Everything is a click away, from “how to bake simple cookies” to “best coffee shop near me”, we have been relying on search engines like Google as the first step to further explore the Internet.

Google is undeniably synonymous with our daily use of Internet, making it the most influential brand in the world, according to a report by Ipsos.

Search engines play a huge part in connecting users with what they seek information for, with its own algorithm system in place.

To appeal to 4.7 billion Internet users with a sea of business competitors, improving how we can be the center of attention is a dire move.

Which certainly leads us to become adept with search engine optimization, or better known as SEO.

For business owners or anyone with interest in improving their online presence, this calls for a swift action.

To stay on top and deliver the image of your brand effectively.

Engagement with our target audience is a crucial key in mapping out our business strategies. We have to know and own them.

What is SEO?

Search engine optimization, as the name implies, is a technique or tool used to augment our website traffic and making it more discoverable by ranking higher on search engines.

Firstly, it is critical to understand the main objectives of SEO:

1. Allow us to identify the interests of our target audience, which we can then use to plan and create prime content to better entice them.
2. Understanding and applying SEO also aids in the modification of our websites to cater to the algorithm system of search engines.

Search engine algorithms will process every query via their indexing system, which will direct users to the best websites that meet their aims and purposes.

This is how search engine optimization comes in to help placing our websites higher in the index of search results.

How Does SEO Work?

Now that we have established the meaning and significance of SEO, we’ll look at the various types of optimization that can be performed.

SEO is divided into several equally important aspects, and our focus for this article are on-site SEO and off-site SEO.

On-Site SEO

Alex Chris from Reliablesoft simply describes on-site SEO as guidelines to follow when optimising your website and content, making them search engines friendly.

Content Marketing

Knowing our target audience is essential for creating materials that will entice them to become more engaged in what we have to offer when they visit our websites.

Relevant content includes elaboration on issues, frequently asked questions or concerns, problems and solutions, and interesting tidbits about the product or service we provide.

Content publishing and digital marketing have always come together, however, it is important to note its’ impact on appealing more to search engines’ algorithm.

A video published by Ahrefs on their official YouTube channel titled “Content Writing for SEO: How to Create Content that Ranks in Google” is the perfect crash course to master this aspect of SEO.

The speaker highlights two main goals in creating content in effort of SEO:

Screenshot taken from Ahrefs’ “Content Writing for SEO: How to Create Content that Ranks in Google”

Keywords Optimization

High-quality content absolutely is the key to our potential customers’ hearts, however, knowing what they want to see takes the cake.

The speaker emphasizes the importance of researching what is being discussed and using targeted content.

The go-to in seeing what are currently on the mind of our potential traffic is keywords generator and statistical tools.

Tools like Ubersuggest are the best assistance for this, available for free and efficient use.

Key in your subject matter and the type of contents in demand will appear, giving us better ideas of what and how to plan for the most engaging content.

Keywords Placement

Another aspect of on-site SEO is the enhancement of keywords use to make them more visible and easier for indexing by search engines.

According to an article by The Daily Egg, it is best to use the relevant keywords as close to the headlines and subheadlines.

To rank higher in search engine indexing algorithms, we will need to use predominant and related keywords throughout our content.

Off-Site SEO

While on-site SEO fixates on increasing the value and quality of a website, off-site SEO focuses on maximizing visibility for increased potential traffic.

In other words, off-site SEO is the external work done off our pages or websites and we are focusing on backlinks and the optimal use of social media.

Backlinks

Backlinks work in a similar pattern to how we are more inclined to buy a book with a “New York Times Best-Seller” sticker and recommended by our bookworm friends.

Backlinks to our website, in simple terms, are an indicator to search engines that others endorse of our content.

This gives off the signal to search engines that our content is credible and worth higher ranking.

Social media

Source of information, as we have progressively known, is no longer limited to blogs or websites.

Work just like backlinks, content shared on social media will increase engagement and eventually lead to search engines recognizing the value of our websites.

This also relates to how terrific engagement rate from social sharing will generate enormous backlinks.

This bring about to our previous point, more backlinks equal to higher search rankings.

How Does SEO Matter?

As we have learned more about what search engine optimization is and how it works, the picture of why SEO is so pertinent has become clearer.

SEO especially helps enhancing how we tailor our content to better suit the intent of our target audience.

As previously stated, SEO aims to help our websites rank higher on search results, the strategies subsequently help to reel in traffic that are potential for conversion to customers.

The best part about using SEO strategies to optimize our websites is that they are self-serving with our own effort and do not require the assistance of advertisements.

SEO strategies are extremely beneficial in redefining our brands because they allow us to deliver our names to the best potential leads.

The results that appear first also seem highly trustworthy and reliable, which in conclusion gives off the authentic image of the brand.